Fig. 144.
as they would that of powerful princes, by means of gifts, in the belief that they would be more inclined to fulfil human wishes if they were propitiated by valuable presents. These gifts consisted in dedicatory offerings and also in sacrifices, and these had to be regularly offered in order to preserve the goodwill of the divinities. Generally speaking, any gift offered to the god might be regarded as a sacrifice; but, as a rule, this name was only applied to those offerings which were not to be a lasting possession of the god but were only given for momentary enjoyment, and must, as a rule, be destroyed, generally by means of fire. The idea underlying these sacrifices was the participation of the gods in the material possessions of men. The gifts included under the heading of offerings were not all of such a nature as to be destroyed at once; thus, first-fruits of the field, fruit, jars of cooked lentils, flowers, fillets, and other such things could not be regarded as real gifts, owing to
Fig. 145.
their transitory nature; and these were merely laid on the altar of the god, or else hung up beside it; sometimes there was a special table near the altar to receive these gifts. On the vase painting (Fig. [144]) a table of this kind is represented near the altar; behind it we perceive the antiquated statue of Dionysus, on one side stands a woman with a goat destined for sacrifice, and on the right another woman is approaching carrying a flat dish, probably containing cakes. The offerings represented in Figs. [145] and [145] were probably also destined for Dionysus. A satyr, carrying in his left hand a branch, in his right a dish, probably containing cakes, is approaching an altar, on which similar gifts have already been placed; on the other side, near the table for offerings, on which lie fruit and cakes, a woman, probably a Maenad, is seated, holding in her right hand a branch, in her left a flat basket with little dedicatory offerings. Although these gifts were not immediately destroyed by fire, they were of so transitory a nature that they could not be counted among those destined to be a lasting possession of the gods. The Greeks called these gifts fireless sacrifices.
Fig. 146.
Sacrifices wore usually divided into two classes—bloody and bloodless. The bloodless seem to be the most ancient; they consisted chiefly in the first-fruits of the field and cakes, usually made of honey, which were regarded as a specially welcome gift by some of the gods. Very often cakes were used as a substitute for animals, since poor people, who could not afford the considerable expense of sacrificing real animals, fashioned the dough into the shape of oxen, swine, sheep, goats, geese, etc. In this class we may include smoke offerings. The custom of burning sweet-scented woods and spices probably came to Greece from Asia, where it had long prevailed. At first they made use of the products of the country, especially cedar wood; afterwards frankincense, storax, and other fragrant substances were introduced from foreign countries. These smoke offerings were often connected with animal sacrifices, since grains of incense were cast into the flames of the altar on which the flesh of the animal was burnt, in order to overpower the smell of burning meat. Libations, too, may be included among bloodless sacrifices. Just as the gods required a portion of the food of men, they desired also to share in their drink, for they were supposed to require food and drink as men did. Libations were therefore offered before partaking of wine after a meal, or drinking any other draught, and Socrates even wished to offer some of his hemlock to the gods. On other occasions too libations were offered, as for instance before public speeches, on the occasion of sacrifices for the dead, invocation of the gods for especial purposes, etc. The part of the wine or other liquid destined for the god was poured from a flat cup either on to the ground or into the flame of the altar, and words of consecration were spoken meantime. It was most usual to use unmixed wine, but there were some gods to whom no wine might be offered, in particular the Erinnys, the infernal deities, nymphs, Muses, etc.; to these they dedicated libations of honey, milk, or oil, either separately or mixed together, or with water. On these occasions there were certain fixed ceremonies to be observed, but these were not the same in all parts of Greece.